Invites Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya To My Office In Komtar On Wednesday 31 July 2013 To Show Proof That I Had Verbally Agreed To Investigate The Allegation By UMNO ADUN Dato Roslan Saidin That 3 Chinese Doctors In Government Hospitals Practised Racism By Refusing To Treat Malay Patients.(en/bm/cn)

Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 27.7.2013,

The Penang state government invites Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya to my office in Komtar on Wednesday 31 July 2013 to show proof that I had verbally agreed to investigate the allegation by UMNO Pinang Tunggal ADUN Dato Roslan Saidin that 3 Chinese doctors in government hospitals in Penang practised racism by refusing to treat Malay patients.

Hilmi had told Bernma that the Health Ministry is still waiting for the investigation report from the Penang government on the allegations as verbally promised by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He added that the Health Ministry will decide on the next course of action only after receiving the state government’s report.

This claim by Hilmi is shocking because it is completely untrue. I have never promised verbally or in writing to investigate the serious allegations by Roslan because I have no such powers to investigate. Hilmi is clearly not fit to be Deputy Health Minister if he does not know that government hospitals are under the purview and exclusive jurisdiction of the Health Ministry and Federal government, not the state government.

This is the reason why I had written to the Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam 2 weeks ago to ask that he verify the serious allegations made by Roslan in the Penang state Assembly on July 3. If true then action should be taken against the doctors but if untrue then Roslan must publicly apologise for making such unfounded allegations that have smeared the reputation and image of all doctors in Malaysia.

Clearly Hilmi is trying to run away and hide from the responsibility by passing the buck to the state government that no action will be taken until the state government sends in the report to the Health Ministry. However what report is there for the state government to send when there is no such verbal promise by me and the state government has no authority to conduct investigations over doctors in government hospitals. Is this the way out for the Health Ministry not to investigate on the false premise that no report has been received from the state government?

The state government is willing to investigate if Hilmi is willing to hand over full authority of government hospitals in Penang to the state government. For this reason, Hilmi is invited to my office on Wednesday to either show proof that I had made such a verbal promise or else hand over full authority to the state government over Penang government hospitals.